Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are currently staying on the estate of a friend while they search for a permanent family home in Britain, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday by Alison Boshoff.
A friend of Prince Harry's told Boshoff that the couple are not expecting to find a property ready to move into quickly, and that the search could take considerably longer than anticipated.
Friend warns of lengthy property search
The source said: "They are staying in a property on the estate of a friend. But the truth is Harry feels they are highly unlikely to find somewhere that is just ready to move into."
He added: "He thinks it may be 12 to 18 months before they're into a new place, and that's if you are thinking about completing at the end of this year or early next year. So it could be even further away than that."
The insider noted that Harry and Meghan's reported budget of upwards of £8 million suggests they are likely to be looking at historic properties, potentially making any relocation more complex.
"It's likely that if you have the £8million-plus budget, which they do, that a house will be historic, which makes renovations more complicated because there are heritage issues," the source said.
School plans for Archie and Lilibet
He continued: "The kind of property they are looking for with the amount of land doesn't come up every week, so they know it might be a long search for the right place."
The couple's children are also believed to have been enrolled in local schools. According to Boshoff, Harry's associates say he wanted Archie, seven, to attend a traditional British prep school similar to Ludgrove in Berkshire, where Harry spent part of his own childhood. Lilibet, five, is expected to join the pre-prep section at the same school.
The arrangement would reportedly enable Harry to take on a more hands-on parenting role, while Meghan travels back and forth between Britain and the family's Montecito home to pursue her business and media ambitions. Harry is expected to be spotted cheering Archie on from the sidelines as he takes up rugby, while Meghan has reportedly been getting to grips with school commitments, including Saturdays.
Security questions remain
The Sussexes' return comes six years after they stepped down as working royals and relocated to the US, and have since remained non-working royals.
Their intentions to spend more time in Britain have prompted fresh questions over security, with Harry previously contending that visiting the UK was unsafe for his wife and children under his current arrangements. The Duke recently penned a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood asking her to personally evaluate whether his family might be granted close police protection.
Harry was unsuccessful in a legal challenge against the Home Office last year following alterations to his security provisions after his decision to withdraw from royal responsibilities. He has previously contended that he encounters a heightened threat compared to his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, referencing "additional layers of racism and extremism".
The Sussexes are yet to publicly reveal the complete particulars of their arrangements for their fresh life in Britain.
